My Own Exotic Backyard

Hi Y'all,

Sometimes, the exotic place you seek may be in your own backyard. Far away places always capture the imagination, but take some time to look around your everyday world and notice the true uniqueness an area has to offer.

Around eastern Tennessee, I meet people everyday who are always looking somewhere else because they feel the area is, well, choose your favorite shortcoming. I won't go into the specifics, but the southern stereotypes that people apply here are seldom accurate. But even if they all were, isn't that a bit exotic when compared with a normal of, say, London? It's all a matter of perspective.

One common thread I've noticed is that the people who are not experiencing the most eastern Tennessee has to offer are the ones who aren't actively seeking experiences to begin with. Not that Tennessee has everything to offer, but it may certainly be worth exploring. How about a Saturday beginning with a bicycle tour of Knoxville, complete with homes designed by George Barber, a zoo, and a botanical garden; followed by a wine tasting and pig roast at a local winery; a quick dinner of hummus at a local deli, (where one discovers that the proprietor's father was once mayor of Tel Aviv); then walking to the Laurel Theater for a performance by Clyde Davenport, an 86 year old fiddler carrying on the traditions of Appalachian music (if that's not your cup of tea, earlier in the week artists such as Branford Marsalis, Nickel Creek, Superdrag, and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra all had shows around town); and winding up the day with a visit to a tapas bar with live jazz. Clear, sunny day with leaves turning autumn reds and golds, and temperatures in the low 70's. Not a bad Saturday for these hillbillies.

Wherever you are, be happy where you are.

Later...
G

On Blogging from Censored Locations

Hi Y'all,

Despite some minor difficulties and time constraints, I really had little problem posting to this blog during the recent China visit. Viewing the blog, however, was a different story. I accepted this as only an inconvenience until the recent events in Myanmar. After all, my blog was started on a lark; just a way to share my experiences with others I know in a lighthearted manner. The whole concept of internet communication takes on a different light when lives are in the balance and a country's future is in limbo. I won't go into the politics of the situation, but those who know me will already know my stance.

The situation in Myanmar involving how information is being spread from the flashpoints is remarkable. A little reminiscent to April, 1989, when the Tiananmen Square protests were underway. China shut down satellite transmissions, but the media agencies were able to file reports via telephone and video footage was smuggled out of the country. Those images, including the famous "Tank Man" photo below (Jeff Widener, AP), are striking to this day.

The ruling generals in Myanmar were a little late in figuring out that the internet was hampering their ability to control the situation in Myanmar. Friday, they literally pulled the plug on the country's two internet providers. The New York Times has an interesting article today (albeit a little late) here.

All of a sudden, I realize that the inability to view my blog's comments while in China is a rather ominous reminder that freedoms are not always to be taken for granted. I also wonder that if I have the chance to visit Yangon in years' time, if it will have the same impact on me as when I visited Tiananmen Square, nearly 15 years after the protests, with the image of Tank Man and the hushed voices of news correspondents reporting via their phones, seared into my memory.

Later...
G